Seperation Langst Fanfic
by Waterheart9
Summary: The team leaves on an important mission, leaving Lance alone in the Castle of Lions with Coran. However, upon returning, they discover that things aren't as pleasant as when they left.


"Hey Coran, we're on our way back to the castle and I just wanted to check in and make sure everything was going okay," echoed Shiro's voice cheerily through the massive screen in the observatory.  
"Oh, yes! Everything's going as smoothly as ever! There are just some teeny tiny issues with Lance..." Coran answered, giving a nervous chuckle. Clearly things were not as smooth as he was suggesting, and Shiro raised his eyebrows worriedly.  
"What's wrong? Is he hurt? Did something happen?" the black paladin questioned. Coran immediately shook his head.  
"Oh no, everything's fine, he's just...not handling being alone on the ship very well..." Coran touched his index fingers together like a child being scolded for misbehaving. Shiro's eyebrows narrowed, willing him to elaborate.  
"At first it wasn't that bad...he was really bored all the time and would constantly ask when you guys were coming back. The space mice and I tried to entertain him and fill him in on what was going on where we could, but with the engine still broken I couldn't focus on fixing it and talking to Lance simultaneously. After a while he started pacing constantly; I could barely get him to sit still."  
"I asked him what was wrong, but all he did was mumble about being worried for everyone and walk away from me. Then after more time passed I noticed he was getting so anxious he kept forgetting to eat; luckily I fixed that in a tic by making an eating schedule and basically force-feeding him..."  
Shiro seemed shocked by this, but did not interrupt and continued to listen quietly.  
"I didn't find out he hadn't been sleeping until a few quintents ago...apparently he was wandering the halls in the middle of the night and had lost so much sleep he could barely walk straight...he crashed into the corner of the wall outside my sleeping quarters and gave himself a black eye. Hasn't spoken to me since. I've been trying to keep closer watch of him lately, but he keeps moving and I can never find him and..." Coran gave a tired sigh. "Just...hurry back. I can't keep this up much longer and his anxiety is giving me anxiety and I need a nap..." he finished, suddenly looking very battered and exhausted.  
Shiro nodded, promising they'd be back soon, and turned off the camera. They needed to get home a lot quicker than he had initially presumed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

When Shiro and the other Paladins finally landed their lions in the hangar and Coran's message had been relayed to the whole group, the search for the red paladin began. The team split up and looked high and low throughout the Castle of Lions, yet the sniper seemed absent from every room, including his own.  
It was Hunk who, after several Vargas of searching, finally found Lance. He had been checking everyone's sleeping quarters, just in case, when he opened Keith's door to a wall made of blankets. It took the yellow paladin a moment of scooching cautiously around the outside of the wall before he realized it was the perimeter of a cozy-looking blanket fort.  
After hunting down the entrance, Hunk got to his knees and slowly crawled inside. Every inch of the floor was covered in pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals. A small bowl of strange alien candies sat in the far corner, empty wrappers strewn about.  
Lance sat tucked into the biggest collection of pillows, arms wrapped tightly around knees and hoodie pulled over head, hiding his face. His body shook and he made soft choking sounds, and Hunk realized with a pang of concern that he was crying quietly.  
"Hey buddy, what's going on? Is everything ok?" Hunk asked lightly, crawling further into the blanket fort. He paused when Lance turned to look at him. The red paladin's flushed cheeks were streaked with tears and he looked exhausted, but worst of all was the black eye that Coran had claimed was received by Lance walking into a wall.  
Hunk only got a glimpse of it, however, for as soon as his friend recognized him, he pulled him into a relieved hug.  
"I-I'm sorry, I know it's s-I know it's stupid, I just-" Lance could barely speak, choking out words through heavy breaths. "You g-guys were gone for s-so long and I-and I started to think about all these different things that c-could have...could have gone wrong and I got r-really worried-" he sniffled, wiping snot and tears on the sleeve of his hoodie. He was clearly embarrassed to be acting so sensitively in front of his friend, and once he had pulled away from the hug he refused to look away from a stuffed animal that had fallen on its side a few feet away.  
Hunk gently rubbed his hand on Lance's back, and his breathing steadied a bit.  
"I'm sorry Lance, we shouldn't have left for so long, we should have called at least..." The pair sat in silence for a moment, then Hunk spoke again.  
"Your fort's cool...but why'd you build it in Keith's room?" he asked, trying to change the subject.  
"I dunno...more free space, I guess. There's wasn't anything in here till I added the blankets," the red paladin replied, voice quiet but less shaky.  
"Do you miss him?" Hunk suddenly questioned, pulling his knees to his chin to mimic Lance's pose. Another beat of silence.  
"Don't...don't tell anyone I said so, but...yeah. I do. I was always a huge jerk to him but I never hated him...I guess I was just jealous all the time or something...but now that he's with the Blade I feel so bad for not being nicer..."

"Don't beat yourself up too hard about it. Keith kinda brought it upon himself, being so grumpy and edgy all the time."

Lance didn't crack a smile, so Hunk took a different approach. "Do you...wanna go play videogames in your room? I know I'm not very good at them, but maybe you could teach me all the moves," he suggested, rubbing Lance's shoulder. The red paladin gave a final sniff and a nod.

"Do you think we could maybe bring the console in here? I spent, like, an hour making the fort and I don't want it to go to waste…" Hunk laughed.

"Sure thing, buddy. Sure thing."


End file.
